A Moment of Celebration
by Talipatra
Summary: The war has been won, the final battle fought. Now its time to celebrate.


I walked down the dark hall towards the raucous celebrating, a huge smile plastered on my face. It was over. It was finally over. Everything could become normal now; we could all live our lives out in peace and only have to deal with the normal struggles of life instead of the life or death ones we'd been subjected to for the past 7 years.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the crowded room, smiling. I was immediately pulled into a bear hug by someone whose face I couldn't quite make out due to the haze in the room from all the firecrackers people were setting off. Terribly dangerous, sure, but we didn't care. We'd survived a war, survived Voldemort. We could survive firecrackers set off in close quarters.

"Do you know where he is?" I shouted up at the arms holding me.

The man shook his head. "Haven't seen him in a while. Check upstairs?"

I nodded and moved on. I knew my mystery hugger by his voice and was surprised he'd been able to find me in the smoke. My progress across the room to the stairs was hindered by so many people pulling me into their arms and hugging me, congratulating me, crying on me. We'd won, but at so great a cost. The lives of those who'd gone before us weighed heavily on me as I knew they must on him. This only spurred my determination to get to him more quickly.

I felt as though my legs were weighed down, hindering my movement across the room and not allowing me to achieve my goal. I felt a sort of desperation welling up in me. I started to push rudely through the people but no one cared. They were too caught up in their revelry to notice me. I passed couples kissing, enemies hugging, normally outgoing people sitting quietly and watching everything a bit dazed, normally subdued people dancing naked in front of the fire. Everything was topsy turvy now. And it was good.

I finally made it to the stairs and started up them quickly. They stretched before me, seemingly never ending as I climbed up, leaving the heat and noise and smells behind me. The desperation was making my chest ache, almost afraid of what I'd find when I found him. Would things be different now or would he still want me?

I pondered over the past year as I climbed. It was amazing how things could change in such a short time. Things that had taken years to build up turned on the spot in just a moment. Things that were expected by everyone, wanted by most, eagerly anticipated.

I felt slightly winded as I continued the climb. I didn't remember it being this long or twisty but then, I didn't come up these stairs that often. Only once or twice during school. I paused to catch my breath, resting my palm against the cool rough stone wall and looking out the window to the grounds below. They were scarred and littered with the flotsam and jetsam of war: torn scraps of cloth, broken wands, bloodied bandages that fell off in the heat of battle. The gouges in the earth would be healed, the articles picked up, my beloved Hogwarts would eventually return to what it had been but even so, it would be different. It would always be different.

I started again and after what felt like an eternity of climbing, I finally reached the ordinary wooden door. Behind it was my hope, my future, my love. My heart started racing in my chest as I reached forward and grasped the handle, pushing it open surely and stepping inside without hesitation.

He was sitting on his bed, facing away from me. His shoulders were slumped and his hair was more unruly than it had been the last time I saw him. He didn't turn at the sound of me opening and closing the door or at my footsteps across the floor. I sat on the bed beside him, taking his hand in mine and lacing my fingers through his, squeezing his hand tight in mine.

"What can I do?"

He turned to me, his eyes streaming and my heart broke. We'd lost so much but it seemed no one thought about what he lost before it all even began. No one seemed to remember that he kept losing on a seemingly consistent basis: first Sirius, then friends, Hedwig even.

"Don't leave me. Ever." He pulled me close to him, kissing me with all the desperation and fear and grief in his heart. I responded, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him back. My own grief and desperation and fears boiled over and I started to cry, our tears mingling on our faces and lips. He gently pushed me back on the bed and I let him. I wanted this and I knew he needed it. I knew him like I knew myself, I could feel his heartbeats and breathes like I felt my own.

"Never," I promised.

His hands skimmed my sides, lightly resting on my waist for a moment before moving lower and tugging on my jeans. I raised my hips and undid them, pushing them down for him. He removed his own and we adjusted some on the bed, not caring to put up a locking charm or a silencing charm. No one would hear us anyway; they were all too caught up in their celebrating floors below us.

He slid into his place between my legs and closed his eyes, his face crumpling in grief. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him.

"I love you," I said softly against his mouth. "I love you now and forever."

His eyes opened and there was so much pain and longing in them. I started to cry again, wiping his face with my fingers. I rested my forehead against his and closed my own eyes.

"Just like I can't leave you, you can't leave me. Ever."

His hand cupped my cheek and he kissed me. "Just try and make me."

I smiled then, opening my eyes and looking at this wonderful man who held everything for me. I lifted my hips lightly, encouraging his movements. He grinned and moved against me, slowly at first, then quickly building up in speed as the frantic need came over both of us. We kept our eyes on each other, determined not to miss this moment. We didn't know how or why, but this moment was special. This moment was different from all the rest. This moment needed to be memorized for posterity.

With one final hard thrust, he groaned and rested his forehead against mine. I held his neck in my hands and smiled up at him as he panted slightly against me. He gently lowered himself onto his elbows and rested his body on mine. I hooked my ankles behind his back and lightly stroked his hair.

"I know it won't solve everything, but if it helps, we can do that whenever you start to feel sad."

He chuckled softly, his breath hot on my flushed skin. "You'd never leave the bed."

"That's alright."

He kissed my neck and rolled off and out of me, pulling me against his chest as he lay on his side beside me on the bed. "Thank you for always being there."

"I always will be you know."

"I know."

We lay in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. His hands explored my body as though they had a mind of their own. He lightly tickled my thighs before moving his hand up and resting on my stomach. It was a familiar gesture, a comfortable position for two lovers. His thumb rubbed small thoughtful circles. It knew, even if he didn't yet.

I rolled carefully, managing to keep his hand in contact with my skin the entire time. He looked at me expectantly, the grief and exhaustion replaced by an overwhelming calm. I reached up and touched his face lightly with my fingertips. He kissed them when I brushed them over his lips.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered softly.

He didn't react at first, letting the words sink in. My heart pounded in my chest. I was ruining things for him. I was taking away his last chance to be a child, his last opportunity to be unfettered with responsibility. I almost wished I could take the words back.

I immediately took that wish back when his face broke into a huge grin and he pulled me against him tightly, kissing me deeply. "Really?"

I nodded, laughing at his joy. "Really. I'm not sure how far but I'm sure that I am."

He nodded and he pushed me back slightly, looking down at my stomach with renewed interest. He pushed me onto my back and moved so his head was resting on my stomach as though listening for secrets our child would tell him. I laughed as his hair and breath tickled my skin.

"Baby," he began, "I've done it all for you. I didn't know you were there until now, but it's all worth it now that I do. You're the wish I've always had, the dream I sometimes thought would never come true."

I laughed softly and ran my fingers through his hair affectionately. It was dirty; he needed a bath as I'm sure we all did. Bathing, however, took a backseat to celebrating.

He talked for a while to our child, his deep voice lulling me almost to sleep before he stretched out behind me again, kissing my shoulder and pulling me firmly against his chest. He slipped one knee between my legs and upward, lightly touching me but not pressing. I turned my head to kiss his lips and we both fell into a dreamless sleep.

When we woke up hours later, the sun outside was gone, replaced by a bright white moon, heavy and round in the sky. I pushed myself up and stretched tiredly. My bones and muscles were finally starting to ache from yesterday. He sat up behind me and smiled.

"Pregnant."

I laughed and nodded. He shook his head in amazement before handing me my pants. I pulled them on as he pulled on his, looking around the room thoughtfully.

"If it's a boy, I hope this is his room. It was my father's, you know."

I smiled and nodded. "I know."

He stood up and came around the bed, pulling me to my feet and kissing me again. "Let's go tell everyone."

I grinned and followed as he pulled me forward, down the impossibly long stairs to the common room. We froze when we got there, all humor gone, all joy forgotten.

The common room was littered with the bodies of yesterday's revelers. They were still and quiet and cold. Dead. Everyone.

"No!" he shouted, dropping to his knees and tearing at his hair in grief. I touched his shoulder numbly and moved past him. I bent down to check pulses but it was no use. Everyone was dead.

"What happened?" I whispered hoarsely.

"You failed," sneered a cold high voice.

We both turned and gasped, the shock hitting us like a bucket of cold water. Before us stood Lord Voldemort flanked by Bellatrix and Fenrir. And Draco Malfoy.

"You're dead," I managed to gasp out. "We killed you. All but Malfoy."

"I brought them back," he said smugly.

"NO!" my lover shouted again, standing up and reaching for his wand. "You can't be here. You can't win. Not when everything was turning around." He leveled his wand but Voldemort flicked his wrist carelessly and a bright flash of green light shot out from a wand that I hadn't seen before now.

I watched in horror as though everything was in slow motion as the light traveled across the room and struck him in the chest. Immediately, his eyes glazed over and he slumped to a heap on the floor. I heard myself screaming and I ran to him, shaking him as tears streamed down my cheeks.

"You promised," I choked out, slapping him hard in useless hopes that it would help. He was limp in my arms as I kneeled beside him, hugging him to me, sobs wracking my chest, tearing my heart into pieces. I looked up then, seeing the murderers watching me expressionless.

"Go on then," I rasped, standing up shakily. "Kill me. It's not worth it without him."

Voldemort smiled that cold cruel smile and shook his head. "I don't think I will. Call it a gift for the child." He waved his hand again and they all turned to go.

I stared at them, angrily. I pulled my wand out and pointed it at him. "Kill me or I'll kill you."

He turned, amusement painting his features. "You think you have it in you?"

I pointed my wand at Fenrir. "Avada Kedavra," I shouted. He slumped to the ground. "Apparently I do." The wand went back to Voldemort. Bellatrix moved forward but he held up a hand and regarded me for a moment.

"You would really kill his child?"

My heart flip flopped in my chest. "You've killed everyone else. Don't you worry his child will come after you with an even bigger chip on his shoulder than he had? It seems to me that it would only make sense."

He raised his eyebrows. "A mother who wants me to kill her child. Intriguing." He studied me a moment longer before lifting his wand and pointing it at me. "Avada Kedavra."

"_No!" screamed the young woman, bolting upright in bed. She was panting and her nightshirt stuck to her with sweat. She scrambled out of the large bed and fled down the dark hallways to the small blue room where her son was sleeping peacefully. She pulled him out of his crib and held him to her chest, sobbing. She sank to the floor, clutching and rocking. _

"_It was just a dream," said a sleepy voice, hands touching her, arms wrapping around her and the child. _

_She nodded, her tears still shaking her body. She was pulled into his lap and he held both of them, stroking her long loose hair as the child somehow slept through it all. _

_Gradually her sobs subsided and she closed her eyes, the tears still running._

"_Was it the same one?" he asked softly, still stroking her hair. _

_She nodded again. "More details this time."_

"_And I…?"_

"_You were there, just like all the other times." _

"_You know he's really dead, right?"_

_She nodded tiredly. "I know. It's all over. It's done and finished. In that moment between waking and sleeping, though, I forget."_

"_I'll always be here to remind you."_

_She lifted her face to look at him and the terror and pain he saw there broke his heart. He kissed her lightly and she sighed softly against his mouth. "Thank you."_

_He tightened his arms around her. "Everything will be fine. I promise."_


End file.
